Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Fifth Beatle Dies

Neil Aspinall, who left an accounting job to become the Beatles' road manager when the group was still a local dance band and who went on to manage its production and management company, Apple, died Sunday night in Manhattan. He was 66 and lived in Twickenham, England. He was known as the "Fifth Beatle".

Geoff Baker, a spokesman for the family, said the cause was lung cancer. Aspinall had been undergoing treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He retired from Apple last year.